Cozy Cole

William Randolph “Cozy” Cole, born October 17, 1909, in East Orange, New Jersey, supplied drumming that anchored countless jazz sessions throughout the 1930s and 1940s, placing him alongside Sidney Catlett, Jo Jones, Chick Webb, Dave Tough, Gene Krupa, Specs Powell, and J.C. Heard. After his family relocated to New York City in 1926, he quickly absorbed the style of Duke Ellington’s percussionist Sonny Greer. By 1928 he was working with clarinetist and bandleader Wilbur Sweatman; four years later he appeared on Jelly Roll Morton’s earliest recordings, including the spotlight piece “Load of Cole.”

Cole’s résumé expanded through extended engagements with Blanche Calloway & Her Joy Boys and the Benny Carter Orchestra before he immersed himself in the bustling swing circuit, cutting sides for Willie Bryant and pianist Teddy Wilson while accompanying Billie Holiday, Midge Williams, Mildred Bailey, and Putney Dandridge, the Fats Waller-styled vocalist assigned to Vocalion. He contributed to Henry “Red” Allen’s original “Algiers Stomp” and recorded with Bunny Berigan, Bud Freeman’s Windy City Five, Chu Berry’s Stompy Stevedores, Stuff Smith’s Onyx Club Orchestra, Frankie Newton’s Uptown Serenaders, and Lionel Hampton. In 1939 his schedule included Pete Brown & His Jump Band, Joe Marsala & His Delta Six, Leonard Feather’s All-Stars, and one-armed trumpeter Wingy Manone.

Cole joined the Cab Calloway Orchestra in 1940, an interval when the flamboyant leader reluctantly spotlighted instrumentalists; Cole anchored the features “Ratamacue,” “Paradiddle,” and “Crescendo in Drums.” Three years later he performed with Raymond Scott and delivered “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum” in Oscar Hammerstein II’s Broadway production Carmen Jones. Nineteen forty-four proved especially productive: Cole directed all-star ensembles for Keynote and Savoy, appeared with trumpeter Roy Eldridge, saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, bassist Billy Taylor, and cornetist Rex Stewart, and sat in alongside pianist Johnny Guarnieri, saxophonist Lester Young, clarinetist Hank D’Amico, tenor saxophonist Walter “Foots” Thomas, and various Armed Forces V-Disc groups.

He accelerated the shift from swing to bop by leading sessions for Keynote, Continental, and Guild and by supporting Don Redman, Don Byas, and the landmark February 29, 1945, Charlie Parker–Dizzy Gillespie date that produced “All the Things You Are.” Around this time Cole enrolled at the Juilliard School of Music to refine his already mature technique. Between 1946 and 1947 he recorded with Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong, then remained with Armstrong’s All-Stars from 1949 through 1953. In March 1954 he and Gene Krupa opened a drum school that continued operating until Krupa’s death in 1973.

After a 1957 European tour alongside Jack Teagarden and Earl Hines, Cole’s profile surged when a drum-centric big-band version of the Edgar Battle–Eddie Durham–Count Basie composition “Topsy” (backed with “Turvy”) reached both the pop and R&B charts, linking him publicly with flashy rock-and-roll drummer Sandy Nelson of “Teen Beat” fame. Over the following seven years he issued similar material on Love, Felsted, and Coral, plus a 1961 Charlie Parker–label LP offering jazzy lounge treatments of themes from Georges Bizet’s Carmen, recalling his 1943 stage success.

In 1969 Cole resumed performing with longtime associate Jonah Jones, appearing intermittently with the trumpeter’s ensemble for several seasons. Later highlights included a 1974 jazz festival appearance in Nice, France, and participation in a 1977 Louis Armstrong alumni project led by Lionel Hampton. Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, awarded him an honorary degree in 1978; he lectured there regularly for the remainder of his life and died in Columbus on January 9, 1981.